Liu, McNealy each card 72 in Stanford debuts

Liu, McNealy each card 72 in Stanford debuts

A pair of Stanford freshmen logged their first collegiate rounds Sunday.

Jim Liu and Maverick McNealy each shot even-par 72 for the Cardinal at the Erin Hills Intercollegiate, which runs Sunday-Tuesday at Erin Hills Golf Course in Hartford, Wis.

They are joined in the Stanford lineup by junior Patrick Rodgers, senior Cameron Wilson and sophomore David Boote. Liu and McNealy were not part of the Cardinal lineup at its fall opener at the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational, as junior Patrick Grimes and sophomore Dominick Francks started instead. Grimes and Francks finished T-53 and T-61 at Olympia Fields, respectively.

Stanford, which placed fifth as a team at Olympia Fields, held the first-round lead in Hartford at 8 under. Rodgers shared the first-round individual lead at 4 under along with SMU’s Harry Higgs and Marquette individual Zach Gaugert.

Liu was the 2010 U.S. Junior Amateur champion and also held the top spot in Golfweek’s Junior Ranking for part of his junior golf career. McNealy advanced to the quarterfinals if the 2012 U.S. Junior and made match play at the 2013 U.S. Junior before losing to eventual champion Scottie Scheffler.